The Johnsonian- August 19, 2015

Page 1

Winthrop University

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Rock Hill, South Carolina

Mahony takes office

Winthrop’s 11th President Dr. Daniel Mahony greets the media in his office on his first day on the job July 1.

Winthrop University’s 11th President prepares for Welcome Week, fall semester Carolyn Rennix rennixc@mytjnow.com Like so many of the hundreds of freshmen piling into the ichardson and o ord esidence Halls, Dr. Daniel Mahony is feeling anxious and excited for a new year at Winthrop University.

But Mahony isn’t feeling nervous about the friends he will make or the Biology course he has at a.m. e is preparing to lead the faculty sta and student body as Winthrop University’s 11th president. With “Welcome Week” and the start of classes quickly approaching, Mahony said that he is most looking forward to the community’s excitement as it prepares for the year ahead. “ t s important to get everything o to a good start, and I want everything to run smoothly, but I also want to take advantage of that excitement

Jacob Hallex / The Johnsonian

and build a lot more enthusiasm among everybody,” he said. After a nearly six-month search, a pooling of almost 80 applicants, several in-person interviews and campus visits from the three finalists the board of trustees unanimously selected Mahony as the University’s 11th president on March 13. Just four months later, Mahony, his wife Laura and their two children moved into the president’s house on Oakland Avenue on July 1.

see MAHONY pg. 3

Students reflect on same- Confederate flag falls sex marriage legalization Flag’s lowering evokes strong emotions across South Carolina Thomas Calamia calamiat@mytjnow.com

Eric Gay / Associated Press Kali Coleman colemank@mytjnow.com The Supreme Court gave the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromatic/Allied) community reason to celebrate this summer. The court case Obergefell v. Hodges produced the landmark Supreme Court decision in a 5-4 majority vote that all states be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples wishing to marry on June 26. This made the United States the 20th country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, following Ireland’s historic decision to legalize it by public vote on May 23. While being a huge national occurrence, the celebration did

not fail to hit Winthrop’s own community. As a Winthrop student and a member of the LGBTQIA community, sophomore Political Science major Jacob Grice said he was ecstatic and shocked when he heard the decision. “Growing up I thought equality was something I’d see being fought over for the rest of my life”, Grice said. “Over the past years, it had become apparent that the movement was going much quicker than anyone had really expected it to. And it is a wonderful feeling to know that I will have the freedom to one day marry whomever I love.” Grice said he is proud to experience this court ruling while in the midst of such a diverse and accepting community.

see MARRIAGE pg. 9

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Crowds united for an emotional cause at the South Carolina state house on July 10 to witness the removal of the Confederate ag which had been ying on the grounds for over 50 years. The Confederate ag was taken down in response to the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, in which nine people were killed and one was seriously injured. In the wake of the event, people began to protest at the South Carolina Statehouse, where the rebel ag which is widely viewed as a symbol of racism still ew. The ag itself was not the ag of the Confederate State of America, but rather the battle ag of the Army of Northern Virginia. The ag was then incorporated onto the Confederate ag s design but has since been uno cially recogni ed as the Confederate ag. “To me the ag has had a place in history, and it has served history well,” said Sonja Smith, a Civil Rights leader, “but has no place on the grounds of the capitol in Columbia or any other state grounds.”

Smith was one of the first frican American children integrated into public schooling in South Carolina at East North Street Elementary in Greenville, South Carolina. “It was horrible,” Smith said. “I hated it and had to fight every day both emotionally and physically.” Over time, however, her tormentors and bullies became some of her closest and oldest friends. “This is taught at home. Hatred, the segregation, the misperception of black versus white,” Smith said. “That is taught at home around the dinner table. And if we lived like we did today back then, it would have been a whole di erent ball of wa .” “Why it took so long for it to be taken down is beyond me,” said Abdul Shabazz, a senior illustration major at Winthrop University, “but it needed to be taken down. Having it at the statehouse sets an uneasy mood for those who see it that way, which is not something you would want to feel at a statehouse.” Though the ag has been lowered some oppose the decision. Groups rallied saying that the ag repre sents state’s rights, southern pride and heritage. “The ag is not the issue ” said Mike Couch, executive director of the Museum and Library of Confederate History. “It is the southern culture and the southern heritage that is the issue – the belief in constitutional government.”

see FLAG pg. 3

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